


close as strangers

by dnfer



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Coming Out, M/M, hints of internalised homophobia, kinda angsty throughout but it gets soft at the end, skype call fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:46:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28327029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dnfer/pseuds/dnfer
Summary: "I miss you.”Ordinarily, Dream would laugh, roll his eyes, maybe tease George about the eagerness in his voice and the way he’s so quick to speak as soon as the call clicks on. But…. nothing feels ordinary anymore. He curses him for it. He knows George is too.“I miss you, too.” Dream replies truthfully, because he does.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound
Comments: 3
Kudos: 137





	close as strangers

**Author's Note:**

> do not force this down the throats of any CCs! if dream or george ever change their stance on shipping, this will be taken down ^-^
> 
> title from [close as strangers](https://open.spotify.com/track/7EYVg6Re3JLrTprnEp4J4F?si=gurYOVMGQuaMry_8IEnlBg) by 5SOS :]

**“I MISS YOU.”**

Ordinarily, Dream would laugh, roll his eyes, maybe tease George about the eagerness in his voice and the way he’s so quick to speak as soon as the call clicks on. But…. nothing feels ordinary anymore. He curses him for it. He knows George is too.

“I miss you, too.” Dream replies truthfully, because he does. He misses the way George laughs and he misses the way George gets all thoughtful and quiet sometimes and he just misses George. It’s not the same on stream.

It's late. It’s like 2AM for George, but he’s awake, and he’s alert, and he’s in bed on his side with his laptop set up next to him and the only reason for him to be awake right now is to talk to Dream.

 _(Maybe George_ is _a little bit in love with him. Maybe Dream should have noticed it sooner.)_

“I’m sorry.” George whispers, and it’s so quiet that Dream is sure he made it up for a second. “I feel like I messed things up. Between us.”

Dream feels his blood run white-hot at the reminder of what happened. The text message is still there and still blue, searing into the pixels of his phone screen. No matter how hard he thinks about it, it won't go away. It’s there every time he shuts his eyes.

Dream grips his phone a little tighter.

The laptop screen in front of him is unwavering. George’s presence in front of him is unwavering. And the message, the unspoken words between them are unwavering. 

**gogy (new) :]**  
_I love you_

**dreamy mcdream**  
_I love you too, you know that_

**gogy (new) :]**  
_You don't_

**dreamy mcdream**  
_What?_

**gogy (new) :]**  
_You love me like you love Sap and Techno and everyone  
But I mean_  
**Seen 14:57 ✓**

No other message after that, but it wasn't necessary. The meaning was clear.

The younger man exhales, trying to physically force the shakiness out of his body. “You haven't ruined anything. Promise. We’re still bros, right?”

George’s face crumples uneasily at ‘bros’, and Dream kicks himself for being so fucking oblivious and stupid. “Yeah. Yeah, bros.” His face is twisted in the dark. “Always.” Bile rises in Dream’s throat, and he forces it back.

“H-How are you? Aside from…. y’know, the obvious.” Small talk. God, Dream fucking hates small talk.

George laughs, but there's no humor in it. “I’m okay. I think I’m okay.”

Dream nods; it's all he can do. He feels so helpless as to what he can do to make things okay again. Part of him wants to text Sapnap and plead with him to think of a solution, but the other, more rational part, doesn't want to complicate things further.

“I like men.” George says suddenly, softly.

At first, Dream thinks it's a shock to him, is expecting George to gasp and have some sort of movie-like revelation, but there's nothing. He looks close to crying. 

“Hey.” Dream whispers, trying to match the tone of his voice to the other man’s. “That's okay, George. That's not a bad thing.”

 _It is a bad thing._ The words hang wordlessly between them. _It is a bad thing, because now I’ve ruined everything we ever could have had. I should have just kept quiet._

“I felt like you deserved to know.” George chokes out, and Dream doesn't think he's ever wanted to hug someone so badly. He jokes about how small George is all the time, but right now, he looks so tiny and fragile that Dream’s heart leaps straight up into his throat.

“I’ve got you.” Dream can't look at his screen anymore; he doesn't want to watch this livestream of George’s heart breaking into pieces. “Always have your back, no matter what, you know that.”

There's a smile dawning on George’s face, teary and faint but present nonetheless. “I do. T-Thank you. Can I…. If I fall asleep, can you stay on call?”

Dream nods his confirmation, watching a little too fondly as George lies down and gets comfortable in his bed. “Goodnight, best bro.”

He laughs. “Goodnight, George.” Dream's actively trying not to let too much of his admiration and affection melt into his voice; it's like acid now, for both of them. 

Their call falls silent again, the sounds of their breathing intertwining in their speakers. There's nothing in the air of the room except the thick, heavy, bloody pulse of the younger man and the screeching, moth-like thoughts flitting through his head. Dream shuffles around, trying to find his phone in the wrinkled duvet, his heart still thumping and beating up in his throat.

**dreamy mcdream**  
_Sapnap  
Wake up  
I need to talk to you_

**simpnap**  
_what_

**dreamy mcdream**  
_Okay so hypothetically  
If one of your best friends confessed they were in love with you  
What would you do_

**simpnap**  
_well how do you feel_

**dreamy mcdream**  
_Why do you think I’m texting you  
I have no clue how I feel  
Or how I should feel_

He glances over at the laptop screen. George is fully asleep now, his back rising and falling as he breathes. Sapnap is taking too long to message back: Dream can't be blamed for getting distracted by the art.

**simpnap**  
_well you can't force things, but i think if you're questioning if you like them back and trying to make excuses to not like them back then you probably do like them back_

The pointed use of “them” feels like a harsh, too-bright spotlight. _Fuck._ Dream thinks. Has he been too obvious with it? Does everyone know, except the main two participants? 

**dreamy mcdream**  
_How do you know_

**simpnap**  
_he looks at you like you put the stars in the sky bro  
i’ve never seen him act like that with anyone else  
it was only a matter of time before he said something_

Dream clicks off his texts with Sapnap, and with a shaky, reluctant touch, he selects George again.

**gogy (new) :]**  
_But I mean_  
**Seen 14:57 ✓**

Of course Dream knew what he meant. He always would. But was that wishful thinking? 

He rereads the whole conversation, a fiery taste building up in the back of his mouth and spreading out across his skin. It feels like a panic attack, but Dream isn't panicking: he’s nervous. He’s staring every feeling and emotion that he was terrified of confronting in the face, but he isn't scared of it anymore, he realises with a jolt. 

Dream’s spent so many years forcing it back, and he can't anymore. He opens a different text thread. 

**ih loo min ah (#1 rival)**  
_how did you know you were bi_

The text sits there, unsent, and Dream stares at it, shaking too hard to press send until the words mean nothing and the letters burn into the screen. 

Maybe, just maybe, there's a point at which you have to face the fact that the jokes…. aren't jokes anymore. They made Dream’s character bisexual in the SMP for a laugh, but the jokey affection and fight over him from Fundy and George was one of Dream’s favourite arcs they've created and released. 

Him and George have always laughed about shipping, encouraged it even; of course, he knows how much it must have meant to the other man now, but truly, why was Dream so enthusiastic with it? What was the reason for him being so okay with it? 

_(Dream knows why. He’s always known why. He wanted that, genuinely wanted it for as long as he can remember.)_

Dream’s tired of pretending he doesn't. 

His hands shake as he taps the voicemail button; it takes him three tries before the touch actually registers.

**Voice Recording from: dreamy mcdream**  
_“You’re asleep right now, but hey, George. I need to…. to say this out loud, because I have so much I need to say and I can't just do it over text._

_“I’m sorry I never saw it sooner. I’m sorry I never realised sooner. I’m sorry I must have torn you up so many times without realising, and I’m sorry that you felt like you had to hide things from me._

_"I wish we weren't so far apart, because I want to hold you so badly, it hurts me sometimes. I’m so thankful for you, I don't know who I would be without you, and I don't want to think about it._

_"And it's true that I’d be nothing without any of my friends, but…. Sap is funny and Techno’s cool, but without you…. You complete me, George._

_"I-I know exactly what you meant. And I love you too. I always have done.”_

**Author's Note:**

> come talk to me on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/sapn8p?s=21)


End file.
